A panicked Paris Hilton yesterday urged her fans to join her in a desperate plea to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to keep her out of jail.

“My friend Joshua started this petition, please help and sihn [sic] it. i LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!” she wrote in her latest blog entry on her MySpace page about Joshua Capone’s letter, in which he asks the “Governator” to pardon the pitiful Paris because she provides “beauty and excitement” to “most of our mundane lives.”

“Paris Whitney Hilton is a 26-year-old American celebrity and socialite. She is an heiress to a share of the Hilton Hotel fortune, as well as to the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton. She provides hope for young people all over the U.S. and the world,” Capone wrote.

Hilton was sentenced to serve 45 days in Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, Calif., for driving with a suspended license after a DWI bust. She must surrender on June 5.

“We, the American public who support Paris, are shocked, dismayed and appalled by how Paris has been the person to be used as an example that Drunk Driving is wrong,” the letter says. “Please consider granting a pardon to Paris Hilton for her mistake, or at the very least to advocate for a pardon to be given to Ms. Hilton.”

Earlier, right after Capone posted his open letter to the governor, Hilton gushed, “Thank you Joshua. I just want to thank Joshua so much for his kind words of love and support. God Bless, Love Paris.”

Meanwhile yesterday, Paris’ publicist and fall guy, Elliot Mintz – whom she axed after he testified he told the heirhead her license was suspended for 30 days instead of four months – vowed he would do anything to win her back.

“I absolutely love Paris,” Mintz said. “She’s a sweetheart and we are pals beyond a professional relationship. This is a time of enormous difficulty for her, and anything I can do for her I will.”

Mintz said that the two plan to meet for an intimate dinner so they can discuss their working relationship.

“In this age of Blackberrys and cellphones, it’s a good idea for us to sit down and look each other in the eye over dinner,” Mintz said. “I gave her a call and she was warm and personal, and we’re going to sit and have a conversation about her future.”

Mintz is a veteran publicist who has a long history of dealing with respected stars – including Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

But lately, the faithful flak has served as more of a baby sitter, bodyguard and chauffeur for the pampered starlet, saying that he “goes above and beyond” because he has “nothing but love and respect for Paris and her family.”

Paris’ lawyer, meanwhile, yesterday filed a notice to appeal her sentence and plans to file the appeal later this week.

Michael Sauer, the judge who handed down the harsh sentence to the harebrained heiress, got a standing ovation at his Los Angeles church, according to the Web site TMZ.com.